


I Was Told There Would Be Cupcakes

by strawberrylace



Series: Forty Weddings and Maybe a Couple of Funerals [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Meet-Cute, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 07:38:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18890134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylace/pseuds/strawberrylace
Summary: a wedding guest has Rey falling head over heals, literally





	I Was Told There Would Be Cupcakes

**Author's Note:**

> I miss writing about wedding AUs so I wrote this one while I'm still trying to draft out on my other fics. Enjoy!!

Rey walked in the reception hall with hot dishes balancing on both arms. She could feel the heat scalding her arms through her thin work shirt. Table 15 was straight ahead and there were no obstacles she had to maneuver through. She hoped these people liked their food. She kept a smile on her face, trying to ignore the burning sensation that pulsated up and down her arms, as she set down each dish to the patrons. No one bothered to take a glance at her as she left the table, not even bothering to wait until someone said "thank you." 

Wedding season was in full swing at the Erso Hotel, just in time for Rey at her summer job. Working in the kitchen had it's moments, but for Rey, she was surrounded by cool coworkers, her boss was nice, and the job paid well when she wasn't in school. Tonight was definitely one of those moments where she'd rather be anywhere else. All night, as she was serving the guests, she couldn't help but think of how rudely they were treating her, ignoring her just because she wasn't part of their crowd. Maybe if it wasn't such a flashy reception the people would be nicer? Money didn't always equal rudeness, but Rey had begged to differ. The reception was more grandiose than anything she had seen before. As she was helping set up in the morning, she had seen two ice sculptures, dozens of floral arrangements, and a giant cookie get carried into the dining hall, as well as a chocolate fountain that was over six feet tall. It was crazy to think that this was the norm of rich people, spending that kind of money for one night. But then again, what did Rey know about the lifestyles of the rich? She was merely a bystander, looking in through the window. 

"A simple thank you would suffice from these folks," Rey huffed, pushing the door open to the kitchen with full force. 

Finn looked up from the cupcakes that he was icing and shook his head. "What do you expect? We're just here to make the event happen, nothing more and nothing less." 

Rey came over by Finn's side to look at all the cupcakes he had been making. Finn was one of the best bakers at the Erso Hotel. In between culinary school, he worked here during school breaks in hopes of saving up enough money to one day open his own bakery. Normally, families would get their cakes and other baked goods from a bakery nearby but no one could get enough of Finn's cakes. Everything from the rich flavors to the perfect frosting and cake combinations made them the talk of the town. Finn always made sure that after every wedding, he saved a little piece of cake for Rey, for no one loved his creations more than she did. Tonight was no exception as he was making lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, Rey's favorite. 

"I can smell the lemon," Rey smiled, admiring Finn's work. "Not too strong either." 

"You think so? I thought my last batch were a bit too citrus. But these ones I think I got them just right!" 

"Finn, you know that everyone loves your cupcakes. Which begs the question, has Poe given any thought as to you making your wedding cake?" 

Finn chuckled lowly. Finn and his fiance, Poe, were currently in the early stages of planning their wedding, deciding on a date later next year after Finn had graduated. There were plenty of jokes made that Finn would be the one to make the cake, though Finn had not ruled that out as a possibility. 

"Poe thinks that's a little too much work," Finn replied. "But I'm just so picky when it comes to anyone else's cakes. I'm eating it so I certainly can tell what's good and what's not good." 

"Promise me you'll save me a cupcake before all the hungry guests eat them all?" 

"I've got you covered!" Finn showed Rey the tiny box he had saved for her, with a delectable lemon cupcake inside. Rey's mouth was already salivating. "Did you really think I would let you down by not saving you one?" 

"Finn!" One of the servers called out. "Are the cupcakes ready?" 

"Almost ready," Finn replied. "Can't rush perfection." 

"Rey, you're supposed to be taking the plates off the tables now. You're not getting paid for chit chat." 

Rey rolled her eyes, silently cursing herself, before she made her way through the door. 

The party was just beginning when Rey went back out to the reception. Almost everyone was out on the dance floor, save for a couple of people, as Rey collected the plates. When no one was looking, she took a dinner roll from one of the plates and stashed it in her pocket. The downside about working weddings was that there was never any free food left after the guests had all left, so Rey stole whatever bread she could fit into her pockets and stashed them in her purse for later. Tonight she had hit the jackpot, for there was an abundance of leftover rolls that she could take for herself. It wasn't stealing if no one wanted it and all that wasted food went in the trash. If all else, she was doing the kitchen a favor of eating their bread. 

Rey was making a second trip to the kitchen, carrying a heavy stack of plates with both hands. She was so careful to watch where she was going, especially with the room now being so dark, when she slipped on her shoelace and collided with one of the guests. Plates flew everywhere ask Rey landed on her back, struggling to get back up. Once she did, Rey looked around to see the plates and utensils were all over the ground. Luckily nothing had broken and that she didn't get stabbed by a dinner knife or fork. There was a lot to pick up, not to mention all of the dinner rolls that Rey had stashed in her pocket had fallen out spectacularly. She hoped that none of the other servers had seen that. 

"Shit," Rey said to herself silently, picking up all the plates that had dropped. 

"Hey, let me help you with that," she heard someone say. 

Rey looked up to see one of the guests was gathering up all of the utensils that she had dropped and bundled them up. He was dressed very handsomely, in a black tux with a bow tie. His black longish hair was combed back, showing his beautiful warm brown eyes and a pronounced nose. His skin looked so perfect with the moles that Rey wished she could trace little shapes with. He was so perfect, and here she was, gawking at him like she had never seen a handsome man before. Then, to her horror, she saw that there was a stain on his pants, presumably from when she had collided with him while carrying the plates. She had never been so embarrassed. 

"I'm sorry," Rey apologized, fumbling to grab the utensils from the wedding guest. She kept her head down low as she gathered up all the dinner rolls that fell out of her pockets and made a mad dash back into the kitchen. 

After Rey threw out all of the uneaten food into the trash, she ran into the bathroom to clean herself up. Luckily the stains weren't too hard for her to get off, but she was going to have to make due with smelling like carrots and sweet potatoes for the rest of the night. Rey felt very foolish for acting the way that she did in front of the wedding guest but she was at fault in the situation. She wasn't watching where she was going and had made a mess, all because of a stupid shoelace. As she was tying her shoes, she took a couple of deep breaths. She was thinking too much into it. It was an accident and she knew it. Besides, it was nice to see someone not step all over her just because she worked in the kitchen. Smoothing her uniform out to look more presentable, she left the bathroom and went back to work. 

It was now time to serve the cupcakes. The way that Finn piped the delicate little yellow and pink flowers on each cupcake made them all the more cuter. She salivated from the sight of how perfect they looked, and the smell made them even more enticing. As she handed each guest their dessert, Rey watched how they ate them. Some of them took pictures of the cupcakes, while others dug right into them with a fork. She had one last cupcake to serve and it had appeared that every table was served. Rey was on her way back to the kitchen, when she saw the wedding guest that she had collided with earlier, sitting alone at his table. Rey looked down at the lone cupcake with the yellow flower on top and then back up at the handsome man, walking slowly over to his table. 

"Hi, said Rey quietly, setting the cupcake down in front of him. "Sorry about earlier." 

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he smiled, looking up at Rey. "I should've been more careful where I was walking. You alright?" 

"Yeah, I should be fine." Rey looked down at her uniform, knowing that she'll have to do laundry when she got home. "Thanks for asking." 

"Thank you for the cupcake." 

Rey smiled, grateful for his politeness. She was feeling a little better as she made her way back into the kitchen. Now that all the food had been served, she could relax a bit. Finn and her chatted a bit, while snacking on the bread rolls that Rey managed to salvage before she took her spill. 

The reception was starting to wind down and that was Rey's cue that she had to go back out and clean. The guests were almost all gone when Rey came to take the rest of the dessert plates and coffee cups at the tables. The music had stopped playing and all the gifts were being taken out by the wedding party's families. She wondered what was going to happen with the half melted ice sculptures. Would the families throw them away? Do they just let them melt? 

"It's a shame they wasted that fountain." 

Rey was startled by the voice coming from behind, but when she was who it was, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the wedding guest she had bumped into was still around. He had removed his jacket and his tie was loose, with a couple of buttons undone from his shirt. His once neatly combed hair was now tied up in a tiny bun, with a few strands of hair framing his face. 

"The what?" Rey asked. 

"The chocolate fountain," he pointed at the fountain that was being wheeled away by a couple of wedding guests. "Bride wanted it but I guess no one used it so there goes more money down the drain." 

Rey looked at him quizzically. "So what brings you to this wedding?" 

"My dad's cousin's daughter got married and I got suckered into being the family representative when both my parents bailed on attending the wedding. Plus I was told there would be cupcakes at the reception and I'm not one to pass up on cupcakes." 

"You'll go where the cupcakes are?" 

"Cupcakes are where they're at and that lemon cupcake was the best one I ever ate. I give all my compliments to the baker." 

"Perhaps I should've tried to sneak one more for you earlier." 

He smirked. "I'm Ben, by the way. Sorry we didn't properly introduce ourselves." 

"I'm Rey. It's fine, I've been running around working all night and also trying not to spill anything on anyone. By the way, I'm really sorry for spilling my food on you when I tripped earlier." 

Ben looked down at himself and noticed the semi-visible stain that was on his pants. "Oh, no, that wasn't you. I had soup and spilled a bit on my pants. I was more worried about you when you went flying!" 

Rey was flattered by his worry and kindness. "Well, thank you for your concern." 

The two of them ended up talking for a while longer about weddings, serving nightmares, and everything in between. Ben offered to walk Rey over to her car when it was time for her go home. Before she left, Rey had a parting gift for Ben. She felt that it was only fair to properly thank him for being so kind to her. It was tough at times to be a server, especially when it seemed that guests didn't always see you as a person. But tonight, Ben made her feel like a person. 

"Here," she said shyly, offering the cupcake Finn saved her from earlier. "Since you loved them so much." 

"I can't take your cupcake from you," Ben declined. "But I can take you out sometime, if that's alright with you?" 

To Rey, that seemed like a pretty good trade off. Not to mention, she was actually really looking forward to having that cupcake when she got home. "Sounds alright with me!"


End file.
